Yesterday Stacy got a call from her best friend in Portland. Friend's sister Judy lives here.
Judy's boss at the cheapo hotel where she works, stiffed her on two weeks wages because the place is going tits up and the owner is getting his first and the clerks and maids are last. Anyway, Judy had phoned her sister asking for help.
Judy is a recovering addict, a diabetic, has a disabled husband, 2 grown sons... Her sister worried about her recovery said she didn't have any cash, but called Stacy to see if we could help.
I've know Judy since she was maybe 12 years old. She is pretty, smart, talented, hard working, loving, sensitive, person. Of the three girls Judy has been the most lost.
Stacy's friend is hooked on beer. Mike the youngest, and only boy, also a diabetic, has been strung out on coke and has committed crimes since he was in grade school. Chris, the oldest girl has suffered greatly with her diabetes... She is on the list for a liver transplant and is very sick right now. (she is a tiny, sweet, lovely, girl. The picture of grace under fire.)
All the kids are good people. Both Judy and Mike are felons. Stacy's friend is the only kid who doesn't have diabetes. The have all worked hard, at hard jobs. but Judy, with a felony on her record, can't get so much as food stamps when they are starving. Judy can't get a decent job even though she has work skills in a wide area, from food service to office work.
Anyway, Stacy and I made up a care package of soup, potatoes, pasta, beans, onions, hamburger, fish, chicken, packs of cocoa, tea, instant coffee... toilet paper... and Stacy brought it over to them at their tiny apartment. Judy was embarrassed. She was grateful, but so embarrassed. She would have rather starved then have us know she was in trouble. Stacy said they had absolutely nothing to eat. NOTHING!
Here's the thing. Judy is struggling to stay in recovery. She is working hard every day at a low paying job because of one mistake, made quite some time ago, for which she has paid her dept to society. But she can't get food stamps, She can't get any help from the state, she can't get a decent job, she is always afraid people will find out about her mistake.
I mean the woman cashed some checks, a few thousand dollars worth... on a closed account... To pay for, rent, food, clothes, pampers, and as I recall... a funeral for the father of the boys when he was killed in a roll over on his way to work.
The question is; Why is Judy still being punished? She has done her time, paid the restitution, cleaned up her act, is attempting to be a good citizen, she isn't doing anything wrong... Why is she still being punished? Life looks hopeless, and she lives in fear as well as poverty.
If left on her own, would she resort to shoplifting food to feed herself and her old man? Perhaps cash a check with insufficient funds? Maybe rob a bank? Start using again under the stress?
People who are economically disadvantaged and desperate are sometimes forced to do things that are illegal to survive. Is that immoral? Is it wrong to want to eat? (yesterday was their third day of hot water and catsup)
More on this subject soon.
Judy's boss at the cheapo hotel where she works, stiffed her on two weeks wages because the place is going tits up and the owner is getting his first and the clerks and maids are last. Anyway, Judy had phoned her sister asking for help.
Judy is a recovering addict, a diabetic, has a disabled husband, 2 grown sons... Her sister worried about her recovery said she didn't have any cash, but called Stacy to see if we could help.
I've know Judy since she was maybe 12 years old. She is pretty, smart, talented, hard working, loving, sensitive, person. Of the three girls Judy has been the most lost.
Stacy's friend is hooked on beer. Mike the youngest, and only boy, also a diabetic, has been strung out on coke and has committed crimes since he was in grade school. Chris, the oldest girl has suffered greatly with her diabetes... She is on the list for a liver transplant and is very sick right now. (she is a tiny, sweet, lovely, girl. The picture of grace under fire.)
All the kids are good people. Both Judy and Mike are felons. Stacy's friend is the only kid who doesn't have diabetes. The have all worked hard, at hard jobs. but Judy, with a felony on her record, can't get so much as food stamps when they are starving. Judy can't get a decent job even though she has work skills in a wide area, from food service to office work.
Anyway, Stacy and I made up a care package of soup, potatoes, pasta, beans, onions, hamburger, fish, chicken, packs of cocoa, tea, instant coffee... toilet paper... and Stacy brought it over to them at their tiny apartment. Judy was embarrassed. She was grateful, but so embarrassed. She would have rather starved then have us know she was in trouble. Stacy said they had absolutely nothing to eat. NOTHING!
Here's the thing. Judy is struggling to stay in recovery. She is working hard every day at a low paying job because of one mistake, made quite some time ago, for which she has paid her dept to society. But she can't get food stamps, She can't get any help from the state, she can't get a decent job, she is always afraid people will find out about her mistake.
I mean the woman cashed some checks, a few thousand dollars worth... on a closed account... To pay for, rent, food, clothes, pampers, and as I recall... a funeral for the father of the boys when he was killed in a roll over on his way to work.
The question is; Why is Judy still being punished? She has done her time, paid the restitution, cleaned up her act, is attempting to be a good citizen, she isn't doing anything wrong... Why is she still being punished? Life looks hopeless, and she lives in fear as well as poverty.
If left on her own, would she resort to shoplifting food to feed herself and her old man? Perhaps cash a check with insufficient funds? Maybe rob a bank? Start using again under the stress?
People who are economically disadvantaged and desperate are sometimes forced to do things that are illegal to survive. Is that immoral? Is it wrong to want to eat? (yesterday was their third day of hot water and catsup)
More on this subject soon.
posted by Gem_with_faraway_eyes | 11:02 AM
4 Comments:
Registered sex offenders get help and their crimes are worse that Judy's. Look at Brian Kastle, I just came from his blog to yours. He get's aid and even college loans! Somethings definately wrong with Judy's state. Good luck to her and thank you for reaching out to help her.
Dear Anonymous,
Brian is an internet friend. In my heart I believe Brian has payed his debts and was doing his best to be a good person, over come his past, and find peace within himself. I wanted to help him as much as I wanted to help Judy.
When a person does the wrong thing, even a horrible thing, at some point the punishment has to stop. One shouldn't have to pay society forever and ever.
I believe a human being can repent, change, and live a good and worthwhile life. I also believe a person has a right to live, work, and be given a hand up if they are trying to become a better person. Not kicked when they are down.
I believe in the golden rule.
Christ said, "judge not, lest you be judged. He also said, "love the sinner, hate the sin."
My nightly prayer is "teach me to forgive oh Lord, so I may be forgiven."
The system is so screwed up and wrong. The government is paying Zillions of tax dollars for a war we should never have started at the expense of education, social services, and health care.
Poor people are fighting to survive. People fall through the cracks and the cracks are becoming huge.
UPDATE ON BRIAN KASTEL: I have sad news for those of us who love Brian. Brian had his hearing on Tuesday and the Judge revolked his probation because of the positive results of a random drug test. The results were positive for marijuana, Diazepam (Valium) and trace amounts of cocaine. The level of valium in his blood (according to the probation officer who testified at the hearing) indicated that Brain had taken 5 to 10mg's approx. one hour before his schedueled monthly meeting with his probation officer. Brian did not have a prescription for the drug. The officer decided to test him because he said it was obvious he was high on something and he said Brian kept dropping a pencil he was holding and he seemed to avoid direct eye contact. A subsequent search of his apartment also turned up some drug paraphanelia described as "a pipe used to smoke meth or crack cocaine" (no drug residue in pipe), a small bag of seeds and marijuna stems, some rolling papers and "a homemade water pipe used to smoke marijuana". No child pornography was found in his apartment or on his computer hard drive. A police officer testified the drive had recently been formated and no forensics could be done on either his personal computer or what was described as "an older laptop" because the laptop was missing the hard drive. He said they also found several hundred printed pictures of young girls and boys approx. 6 to 10 years old clipped mostly from catalogs and store circulars. He said the children were fully clothed in the pictures or in bathing suits and are not illegal but the probation officer testified that "it demonstates Mr. Kastel's continueing interest in minor childen" and he said it looked like some of the photo's were several years old and a number of them appear to have been folded as if to fit in a wallet. He also said a pair of binoculars and a telescope though not illegal also raises questions about their intended use. There was no mention of his blog by either the judge or the prosecuter. Brian did not testify but his public defender read a short note from a former landlord that basically said Brian was friendly and in the 4 months he rented from him he was always on time with the rent. The lady prosecuter asked to look at the letter. After comparing the dates she said to the judge that Brian's rent was paid for by a check from HRS sent directly to the landlord on the 3rd day of each month and Brian was never late paying the rent because he didn't pay rent, the state paid it for him. She then said all that letter tell's the court is Mr. Kastel is friendly and she said I would smile a lot too if someone was paying my rent every month your honor. The judge then said something like I think we can find a nice apartment for Mr. Kastel. Do you like green Mr. Kastel?. It was funny and even Brian chuckled. The whole thing took maybe 10 minutes and despite the seriousness of the matter Brian looked like he was a kid on a field trip. He was dressed in the standard orange jump suit and had both leg and wrist chains on. He smiled a lot and kept looking around the court room for familiar faces and as far as I know only his sister and a family friend were there and neither took the stand or spoke to Brian.
Brian has just over 5 years remaining on his sentence and though it is unlikely he will serve the entire term he will not be eligible for a parole hearing under Florida law for at least 8 months. Don't get your hopes up, a hearing is not a guarentee he will be released it is just a hearing. He is schedueled to be transferred from the Pinellas County Jail early next week and will likely do his time at Stark in North Florida. His good friend Danny said he talked to Brian on the phone and said he is resigned to doing the time and is adjusting well to the idea of returning to prison. He said he will use the time to write a book about his life and feels that what ever time he serves will only help build interest in his book and boost initial sales.
You must know that the entire monologue above is a complete fabrication. Every sentence can be easily checked for veracity, and not one single sentence within the entire piece has even a shred of truth, except these two lines: "There was no mention of his blog by either the judge or the prosecuter. [sic]," and: "No child pornography was found in his apartment or on his computer hard drive." However, his computer (a desktop) was never searched by LE upon his arrest. Nevertheless, the hackers who had free, unrestricted access to everything on his system in the several months preceding his arrest never did find any such incriminating material either, despite their fine-toothed combing that they were certain would reveal his "secret pedophile activities. " All they uncovered were emails and documents that continued to provide an avalanche of evidence for his truthfulness and forthrightness. And we see how those have been presented.
Your own integrity shines brightly for not bowing to the Gestapo-like intimidation tactics of those people nor back-pedaling or attempting to make excuses for your befriending him.
Major props to you, Gem.
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